DREAM THEATER ANNOUNCE THE RETURN OF DRUMMER MIKE PORTNOY

[TheHoveringSojourn808]

It’s also been said the MP just wanted a hiatus, which indicates that he always intended to come back. So, to me this says that MM was the replacement for as long as MP needed to sew his wild oats. And while I think almost 14 years is a bit too long away, MP was always in contact with the band. They were always family to him. I think in his heart — and the band’s — this was always what they wanted.

I get what you're saying, but you're missing A LOT of public (and most likely private too) drama between them. There's been plenty of negative comments made from both sides (mostly MP, who got really bitter at some point), comments made by the band that the MM lineup would be the last one, as well as MP saying he didn't want/need to return. He even made the infamous "LTE is like DT but without the annoying vocals" comment.

Things change, obviously, and here we are, but I don't think this reunion was "always what they wanted" at all.

Agreed.  I think some either missed or have forgotten how bad it was the first couple years after Portnoy's departure.  It seems all good now, and it is nice to see, but it's disingenuous to act like everything was always good between them and that this was always inevitable.  It appeared inevitable in the last couple years once he played on JP's solo album, LTE3 happened, and he made amends with James, but prior to that, it was anything but inevitable.

Great take, and welcome to DTF! haven't seen you post before.

[Metro]

It’s also been said the MP just wanted a hiatus, which indicates that he always intended to come back. So, to me this says that MM was the replacement for as long as MP needed to sew his wild oats. And while I think almost 14 years is a bit too long away, MP was always in contact with the band. They were always family to him. I think in his heart — and the band’s — this was always what they wanted.

I get what you're saying, but you're missing A LOT of public (and most likely private too) drama between them. There's been plenty of negative comments made from both sides (mostly MP, who got really bitter at some point), comments made by the band that the MM lineup would be the last one, as well as MP saying he didn't want/need to return. He even made the infamous "LTE is like DT but without the annoying vocals" comment.

Things change, obviously, and here we are, but I don't think this reunion was "always what they wanted" at all.

Agreed.  I think some either missed or have forgotten how bad it was the first couple years after Portnoy's departure.  It seems all good now, and it is nice to see, but it's disingenuous to act like everything was always good between them and that this was always inevitable.  It appeared inevitable in the last couple years once he played on JP's solo album, LTE3 happened, and he made amends with James, but prior to that, it was anything but inevitable.

Great take, and welcome to DTF! haven't seen you post before.

 

[The Letter M]

It’s also been said the MP just wanted a hiatus, which indicates that he always intended to come back. So, to me this says that MM was the replacement for as long as MP needed to sew his wild oats. And while I think almost 14 years is a bit too long away, MP was always in contact with the band. They were always family to him. I think in his heart — and the band’s — this was always what they wanted.

I get what you're saying, but you're missing A LOT of public (and most likely private too) drama between them. There's been plenty of negative comments made from both sides (mostly MP, who got really bitter at some point), comments made by the band that the MM lineup would be the last one, as well as MP saying he didn't want/need to return. He even made the infamous "LTE is like DT but without the annoying vocals" comment.

Things change, obviously, and here we are, but I don't think this reunion was "always what they wanted" at all.

Agreed.  I think some either missed or have forgotten how bad it was the first couple years after Portnoy's departure.  It seems all good now, and it is nice to see, but it's disingenuous to act like everything was always good between them and that this was always inevitable.  It appeared inevitable in the last couple years once he played on JP's solo album, LTE3 happened, and he made amends with James, but prior to that, it was anything but inevitable.

Great take, and welcome to DTF! haven't seen you post before.

 

 

I mean, THS808 registered on August 4th, and Kev's last post before this week was July 28th, sooooo...

-Marc.

[crystalstars17]

I sure hope Portnoy allows the writing recording to take it's time.... please no two weeks and we are done

Train of Thought was done in 3 weeks. I would be over the moon of they drop #16 at this high stakes.

While I do like ToT it is no where near the top of DT's output.
To me it's too one dimensional.

Quality takes time.

[HOF]

I believe at least some of the songs/ideas for Train of Thought were born from sound check jams on tour before they went into the studio, so it wasn’t entirely created in three weeks’ time.

[gzarruk]

And now, for the "famous last words" (or first words) from band members, of course not to be taken literally...

Charlie went saying it was only a matter of time.

James came lost in the sky, not afraid to be pulled under.

Kevin went saying he would never be open again.

Derek came with a crimson sunrise and left under the New York rain.

Jordan came in 1928, safe in the light that surrounded him.

Mike went away in Tuscany and with the sound of seagulls, what will he do next?

Mike Mangini came standing on the backs of angels and left having built a legacy.

 

Mike left with the taste of raw dog

[Dream Team]

It’s also been said the MP just wanted a hiatus, which indicates that he always intended to come back. So, to me this says that MM was the replacement for as long as MP needed to sew his wild oats. And while I think almost 14 years is a bit too long away, MP was always in contact with the band. They were always family to him. I think in his heart — and the band’s — this was always what they wanted.

I get what you're saying, but you're missing A LOT of public (and most likely private too) drama between them. There's been plenty of negative comments made from both sides (mostly MP, who got really bitter at some point), comments made by the band that the MM lineup would be the last one, as well as MP saying he didn't want/need to return. He even made the infamous "LTE is like DT but without the annoying vocals" comment.

Things change, obviously, and here we are, but I don't think this reunion was "always what they wanted" at all.

Agreed.  I think some either missed or have forgotten how bad it was the first couple years after Portnoy's departure.  It seems all good now, and it is nice to see, but it's disingenuous to act like everything was always good between them and that this was always inevitable.  It appeared inevitable in the last couple years once he played on JP's solo album, LTE3 happened, and he made amends with James, but prior to that, it was anything but inevitable.

Great take, and welcome to DTF! haven't seen you post before.

 

 

I mean, THS808 registered on August 4th, and Kev's last post before this week was July 28th, sooooo...

-Marc.

Kev’s post count is pretty damn obvious.

[Herrick]

The Nightmare discussion always amused me because everybody makes such a big deal out of MP's vocals, while overlooking that the song as a whole isn't particularly good, and wouldn't have been no matter how they did that passage. At the same time, the middle Beautiful Agony section is truly wonderful. Portnoy also lays down some great drum work. There's a whole lot more to take away from the song than a 20 second vocal passage, yet that seems to be most people's main takeaway.

Maybe people made a bigger deal about it back in the day. I wasn't on the forum then so I don't know. I think it's more of a joke/meme on the forum these days. But whenever this song comes up, I think the main complaints are about the long instrumental section the makes up the later part of the song. I don't hate it or even dislike it that much but I agree it's not that great.

[Ben_Jamin]

The Nightmare discussion always amused me because everybody makes such a big deal out of MP's vocals, while overlooking that the song as a whole isn't particularly good, and wouldn't have been no matter how they did that passage. At the same time, the middle Beautiful Agony section is truly wonderful. Portnoy also lays down some great drum work. There's a whole lot more to take away from the song than a 20 second vocal passage, yet that seems to be most people's main takeaway.

Maybe people made a bigger deal about it back in the day. I wasn't on the forum then so I don't know. I think it's more of a joke/meme on the forum these days. But whenever this song comes up, I think the main complaints are about the long instrumental section the makes up the later part of the song. I don't hate it or even dislike it that much but I agree it's not that great.

This is how I felt about the last two albums with MP before he left. This was when they started doing the same old keyboard solo/guitar solo tradeoff that was just more of the weedly weedly while he did his usual type of drumming with his "bag of tricks". That's how I felt at the time at least. What made it more for me was how much I felt A Rite of Passage just sounded like another Constant Motion, same structure with an odd Be-Bot solo (which did not translate live well at all for me), but Constant Motion is the better live song, which I still think it was neat getting to hear both in the same show.

[gzarruk]

I think TBOT is bloated too. Sure, that solo is one of the best things on the whole album, but the sections leading up to the solo go on for too long.

[Ben_Jamin]

I think TBOT is bloated too. Sure, that solo is one of the best things on the whole album, but the sections leading up to the solo go on for too long.

That's the section I call the "Day" section as it is said quite a bit, and I sort still feel they could've went without that last chorus and just went from "But most of all thank you for my life!" right into "My heart is bleeding bad", or maybe even had done without the 2nd chorus altogether as what is said their is lyrically, more visually said in those last three verses.

But I don't mind the song being what it is.

[Jamesman42]

The Nightmare discussion always amused me because everybody makes such a big deal out of MP's vocals, while overlooking that the song as a whole isn't particularly good, and wouldn't have been no matter how they did that passage. At the same time, the middle Beautiful Agony section is truly wonderful. Portnoy also lays down some great drum work. There's a whole lot more to take away from the song than a 20 second vocal passage, yet that seems to be most people's main takeaway.

Maybe people made a bigger deal about it back in the day. I wasn't on the forum then so I don't know. I think it's more of a joke/meme on the forum these days. But whenever this song comes up, I think the main complaints are about the long instrumental section the makes up the later part of the song. I don't hate it or even dislike it that much but I agree it's not that great.

This is how I felt about the last two albums with MP before he left. This was when they started doing the same old keyboard solo/guitar solo tradeoff that was just more of the weedly weedly while he did his usual type of drumming with his "bag of tricks". That's how I felt at the time at least. What made it more for me was how much I felt A Rite of Passage just sounded like another Constant Motion, same structure with an odd Be-Bot solo (which did not translate live well at all for me), but Constant Motion is the better live song, which I still think it was neat getting to hear both in the same show.

The shift in music from Octavarium to SC felt so abrupt when SC came out, which is when they went on to Roadrunner. I agree with you here, and I think they lost something between those two albums, the songwriting seemed to take a turn for the worse (but it was still pretty good, just not as good as before).

Then again, we got one of their best songs ever in The Count of Tuscany, and ADTOE also was incredible (though I think that was from a band with something to prove).

[Ben_Jamin]

The Nightmare discussion always amused me because everybody makes such a big deal out of MP's vocals, while overlooking that the song as a whole isn't particularly good, and wouldn't have been no matter how they did that passage. At the same time, the middle Beautiful Agony section is truly wonderful. Portnoy also lays down some great drum work. There's a whole lot more to take away from the song than a 20 second vocal passage, yet that seems to be most people's main takeaway.

Maybe people made a bigger deal about it back in the day. I wasn't on the forum then so I don't know. I think it's more of a joke/meme on the forum these days. But whenever this song comes up, I think the main complaints are about the long instrumental section the makes up the later part of the song. I don't hate it or even dislike it that much but I agree it's not that great.

This is how I felt about the last two albums with MP before he left. This was when they started doing the same old keyboard solo/guitar solo tradeoff that was just more of the weedly weedly while he did his usual type of drumming with his "bag of tricks". That's how I felt at the time at least. What made it more for me was how much I felt A Rite of Passage just sounded like another Constant Motion, same structure with an odd Be-Bot solo (which did not translate live well at all for me), but Constant Motion is the better live song, which I still think it was neat getting to hear both in the same show.

The shift in music from Octavarium to SC felt so abrupt when SC came out, which is when they went on to Roadrunner. I agree with you here, and I think they lost something between those two albums, the songwriting seemed to take a turn for the worse (but it was still pretty good, just not as good as before).

Then again, we got one of their best songs ever in The Count of Tuscany, and ADTOE also was incredible (though I think that was from a band with something to prove).

The Count of Tuscany is what I like about Dream Theater, so of course I instantly loved it, especially that outro. Even the lyrics didn't bother me.

[Jamesman42]

It's just nice when DT doesn't force the metal and they're more on the prog side.

[gzarruk]

I think TBOT is bloated too. Sure, that solo is one of the best things on the whole album, but the sections leading up to the solo go on for too long.

That's the section I call the "Day" section as it is said quite a bit, and I sort still feel they could've went without that last chorus and just went from "But most of all thank you for my life!" right into "My heart is bleeding bad", or maybe even had done without the 2nd chorus altogether as what is said their is lyrically, more visually said in those last three verses.

But I don't mind the song being what it is.

Total speculation here, but if I had to guess, this being such a personal topic for MP, specially back then, I think he wrote a lot of lyrics and then they went on to make the song longer to fit those extra lyrics in.

[TheHoveringSojourn808]

It’s also been said the MP just wanted a hiatus, which indicates that he always intended to come back. So, to me this says that MM was the replacement for as long as MP needed to sew his wild oats. And while I think almost 14 years is a bit too long away, MP was always in contact with the band. They were always family to him. I think in his heart — and the band’s — this was always what they wanted.

I get what you're saying, but you're missing A LOT of public (and most likely private too) drama between them. There's been plenty of negative comments made from both sides (mostly MP, who got really bitter at some point), comments made by the band that the MM lineup would be the last one, as well as MP saying he didn't want/need to return. He even made the infamous "LTE is like DT but without the annoying vocals" comment.

Things change, obviously, and here we are, but I don't think this reunion was "always what they wanted" at all.

Agreed.  I think some either missed or have forgotten how bad it was the first couple years after Portnoy's departure.  It seems all good now, and it is nice to see, but it's disingenuous to act like everything was always good between them and that this was always inevitable.  It appeared inevitable in the last couple years once he played on JP's solo album, LTE3 happened, and he made amends with James, but prior to that, it was anything but inevitable.

Great take, and welcome to DTF! haven't seen you post before.

 

 

I mean, THS808 registered on August 4th, and Kev's last post before this week was July 28th, sooooo...

-Marc.

Kev’s post count is pretty damn obvious.

Haha i have avatars turned off so i don't think i see all the info on the left side of the screen. but in either case it's nice to meet KevShmev

[TAC]

It’s also been said the MP just wanted a hiatus, which indicates that he always intended to come back. So, to me this says that MM was the replacement for as long as MP needed to sew his wild oats. And while I think almost 14 years is a bit too long away, MP was always in contact with the band. They were always family to him. I think in his heart — and the band’s — this was always what they wanted.

I get what you're saying, but you're missing A LOT of public (and most likely private too) drama between them. There's been plenty of negative comments made from both sides (mostly MP, who got really bitter at some point), comments made by the band that the MM lineup would be the last one, as well as MP saying he didn't want/need to return. He even made the infamous "LTE is like DT but without the annoying vocals" comment.

Things change, obviously, and here we are, but I don't think this reunion was "always what they wanted" at all.

Agreed.  I think some either missed or have forgotten how bad it was the first couple years after Portnoy's departure.  It seems all good now, and it is nice to see, but it's disingenuous to act like everything was always good between them and that this was always inevitable.  It appeared inevitable in the last couple years once he played on JP's solo album, LTE3 happened, and he made amends with James, but prior to that, it was anything but inevitable.

Great take, and welcome to DTF! haven't seen you post before.

 

 

I mean, THS808 registered on August 4th, and Kev's last post before this week was July 28th, sooooo...

-Marc.

Kev’s post count is pretty damn obvious.

I just figured the  was to HoSo saying Kev actually had a great take.

[Mr.Mister]

Finally got some time to write down some thoughts:

- Mike Magini is a class act from the moment he auditioned until his statement on the latest press release. I'm glad we got to see him much more involved in the writing process bringing ideas and having an influence on the sound.

- MP being back does two things for me: 1) it gives the band the chance to refresh their sounds while 2) being in its essence still. MP has had a tremendous 13 year run outside DT working with different projects. I think this can be good in that he can bring some fresher ideas without sounding too forced. Towards the end of his first tenure I remember thinking "oh this is their Muse song".

-It's such a big movement for the band from a legal point of view there is no way they didn't discuss how they wanted to operate with MP back and have 100% buy in from all members. I have a hard time thinking it will be MP in his same role and responsibilities as before. We know he's a creative driver, but I have a hard time thinking he will take on all roles he was doing before. I don't think rotating set lists will come back if the band is not 100% aligned to that. If James has developed a better way of working I'm pretty sure this has been brought up.

- With JLB picking up on releasing bootlegs I'd be curious to see him and MP colaborating on releasing of these materials.

- As I mentioned before, I have a hard time thinking DT will not play the 12-step suite in the next tour. It's too perfect of a chance to miss it out, and if they do an Evening With format it's absolutely perfect. MM absolutely "slayed" as the kids would say when they played the TSF and now I want to see MP play it.

- I'm hoping DT goes all out for the next record ala SFAM. I'm not talking about how it should sound, but rather bring a wide variety of ideas. I wouldn't want the next record to be a D/T, which is a great album but not one that would match the magnitude of this return to form.

- I'm hoping with MP back concerts in the next tour bring a bit of jamming. I was listening to BTL at Budokan and that middle section is pure perfection. 

- it's been 13 or so years since the band played together. People change so much in 10 years I'm sure the challenges MP was feelings that led to his burnout are behind. I'm sure some of the band dynamics will be much healthier than they were at the time of the split. DT has nothing to prove, very few bands put on new records and you are dying to hear the new songs played. I'm hoping they do the most DT album to date, they go all out balls to the wall, and rock on. 

[Herrick]

- With JLB picking up on releasing bootlegs I'd be curious to see him and MP colaborating on releasing of these materials.

LaBrie handles the official bootlegs now? I didn't know they brought those back.

[TheHoveringSojourn808]

- With JLB picking up on releasing bootlegs I'd be curious to see him and MP colaborating on releasing of these materials.

LaBrie handles the official bootlegs now? I didn't know they brought those back.

that is the reason MP should take it back over

they barely promote them, it's so silly

[KevShmev]

I just figured the  was to HoSo saying Kev actually had a great take.

[TAC]

I just figured the  was to HoSo saying Kev actually had a great take.

Welcome back!

[KevShmev]

 

I went to a hot take seminar in my time away.

I thought it was odd that on the first day, the instructor was advising to trash classics like Power Windows and Promised Land, but then I realized I had gone to the wrong room and was in the bad take seminar class.

[TAC]

I went to a hot take seminar in my time away.

I thought it was odd that on the first day, the instructor was advising to trash classics like Power Windows and Promised Land, but then I realized I had gone to the wrong room and was in the bad take seminar class.

Check out the What album are you listening thread from a couple of days ago..

[Setlist Scotty]

I sure hope Portnoy allows the writing recording to take it's time.... please no two weeks and we are done

Train of Thought was done in 3 weeks. I would be over the moon of they drop #16 at this high stakes.

While I do like ToT it is no where near the top of DT's output.
To me it's too one dimensional.

Quality takes time.

Not disagreeing with any of you, but don't forget that Awake was ALSO written in 3 weeks' time, and IIRC, d/t in less than 4 weeks.   
 
 

- With JLB picking up on releasing bootlegs I'd be curious to see him and MP colaborating on releasing of these materials.

LaBrie handles the official bootlegs now? I didn't know they brought those back.

Supposedly he was going to when MP initially left, or at least handle the archives/vault for potential official bootleg releases, but then other than the 2013 Fan Club release, nothing new was ever released until a few years ago. Given that JP is the producer on the new MM-era stuff and in fact asked MP to go through all the liners/credits when MP commented to him that there were mistakes on some of the reissues, I think it's safe to say that when LNFA got started, JP was the one who was overseeing it, not JL.

[KevShmev]

I went to a hot take seminar in my time away.

I thought it was odd that on the first day, the instructor was advising to trash classics like Power Windows and Promised Land, but then I realized I had gone to the wrong room and was in the bad take seminar class.

Check out the What album are you listening thread from a couple of days ago..

hahahah

[Omega Monkey]

I for one am shocked at these developments.

Also, Jordan is only about a year behind MP in seniority now.  And James is about 8 years ahead.  Wild wild stuff Ed.  Wild stuff.

[MoraWintersoul]

I guess I was a prophet?

Everything that's cited here as a reason not to go through with a reunion I see as resolvable. MP and JLB could absolutely sit down and catch up and patch the long break in their friendship if the band was on the line. JP and MP could work out who would do what and they would both be willing to make concessions.

Remember this isn't 2010 anymore and these guys are old! (No offense to my boomers and older X-ers here)

As for MM having to leave on his own volition, not that that's impossible (he might say 12-15 years of being in a band again was enough for him), but Dream Theater isn't exactly known for never firing people. Relationships change all the time and I don't see that as beyond them anymore, like I used to.

This all hinges on them actually being willing to reunite, but it all comes down to the fact MP was very unlikely to leave back in the day, and yet he did. Shit happens, you know?

I feel so bad about Mike Mangini, but undoubtedly this brings back a lot of my interest in the band. Things are going to change around here in a way that's so atypical for a band at the tail end of their career that I feel almost obliged to tune into every little thing, in a way that I haven't done since 2015ish.

I always stood by MM and still do to this day. I find his contribution to the band, both musically and personally, to be top notch.

I hope he knows how many of us feel this way

[MirrorMask]

Now that we had 30 pages to discuss it, can we say that the reunion has been a success and had an overwhelmingly positive reaction?

99% (and more) of the fans are happy that MP is back. Also an overwhelming majority has respect and appreciation for MM's tenure in the band and the way he gracefully handled the change. I'm glad that the fanbase is not split in two about Portnoy's return and they're not lashing out against Mangini (you know, in a "now that he's gone I can finally say the bad things about him I always had to hide" kind of way).

So I'm happy that all is good and nice in DT land 

[Kocak]

Now that we had 30 pages to discuss it, can we say that the reunion has been a success and had an overwhelmingly positive reaction?

99% (and more) of the fans are happy that MP is back. Also an overwhelming majority has respect and appreciation for MM's tenure in the band and the way he gracefully handled the change. I'm glad that the fanbase is not split in two about Portnoy's return and they're not lashing out against Mangini (you know, in a "now that he's gone I can finally say the bad things about him I always had to hide" kind of way).

So I'm happy that all is good and nice in DT land 

While I agree with this, for me, the only downside of this whole thing is that I think that Mangini deserved a better farewell. Maybe a documentary celebrating his tenure with the band? Not just a lousy press statement. He has been nothing but a positive addition to the Dream Theater history.

[wolfking]

It’s also been said the MP just wanted a hiatus, which indicates that he always intended to come back. So, to me this says that MM was the replacement for as long as MP needed to sew his wild oats. And while I think almost 14 years is a bit too long away, MP was always in contact with the band. They were always family to him. I think in his heart — and the band’s — this was always what they wanted.

I get what you're saying, but you're missing A LOT of public (and most likely private too) drama between them. There's been plenty of negative comments made from both sides (mostly MP, who got really bitter at some point), comments made by the band that the MM lineup would be the last one, as well as MP saying he didn't want/need to return. He even made the infamous "LTE is like DT but without the annoying vocals" comment.

Things change, obviously, and here we are, but I don't think this reunion was "always what they wanted" at all.

Agreed.  I think some either missed or have forgotten how bad it was the first couple years after Portnoy's departure.  It seems all good now, and it is nice to see, but it's disingenuous to act like everything was always good between them and that this was always inevitable.  It appeared inevitable in the last couple years once he played on JP's solo album, LTE3 happened, and he made amends with James, but prior to that, it was anything but inevitable.

Great take, and welcome to DTF! haven't seen you post before.

[Wim Kruithof]

the only downside of this whole thing is that I think that Mangini deserved a better farewell. Maybe a documentary celebrating his tenure with the band? Not just a lousy press statement. He has been nothing but a positive addition to the Dream Theater history.

Couldn't agree more. Mangini is a diamond.

[Indiscipline]

My two reunion cents, if you please:

Although I've never been one to feel the foundations of reality and all that is sacred shaking at each line-up change, it would be too foolish (even for me) not to admit Portnoy's return is pretty huge news, as was Portnoy's departure years and albums ago.  Yet I can already see a dialectical trap opening its ugly maw beneath the fanbase, tempting us to enclose DT's opus into distinct output quality tiers dictated by the MP-In and MP-Out switch. I find the trend (which I could be very well imagining, but I doubt that) cosmically unfair towards Dream Theater and even crueler towards Michael Mangini and Michael Portnoy.

Let me try to explain using my totally subjective and lunatic opinions about DT's output during the years, which I had the privilege to witness in its entirety:

I consider the Images to Six Degrees stretch as DT's best 5 albums streak, and I refuse to think I have to thank MP for it; I also happen to consider the Train to Clouds stretch as the worst* DT's 4 album streak, and I refuse to think I have to blame MP for it.

* (In Dream Theater case, "worst" is the word common mortals should use meaning "less than mindblowing" because - let's be focking fair once in a while - the guys' level of musical craft, knowledge and mastery won't let them make a "bad" album in the musical context they live. Everything is and is always been skewed by our insane love and expectations. I don't like the Octavarium album very much, but I can't say it's a bad album with a straight face)

But wait!

I consider the Turn to Astonishing stretch as DT's best 3 album streak, and I refuse to think I have to thank MM (or MP's absence) for it; I also happen to consider the last two albums as DT's *worst 2 album streak, and I refuse to think I have to blame MM (or MP's absence) for it.

Now, I'm not saying The Mikes are ineffectual and interchangeable forces. When Portnoy left I was a bit scared because I knew we were losing a creative force of Roger Waters magnitude, something simply nobody else on the scene could provide in the same package with the required technical chops. Yet the band kept its creative spark, or found a new one, and Mangini (who is no Portnoy in that aspect) has undeniably contributed to the process.

Where does all of this tripe leave me about The Reunion?

For me it's quite simple (or simplistic, you choose): every DT album contains an impetus, a strong aesthetic choice to dive on a different path, if not a state of the art statement at least a need to grow as composers. The albums I like travel on a path I like, those I don't ... don't. The last two albums were different: I couldn't feel said impetus (right, wrong, good, or bad). For the first time there was no active theater, but a stationary picture gallery.  The band needed a spark. Again, it was no Mangini's blame and it won't be all thanks to Portnoy if/when things turn, but a change of such magnitude can easily led to new impetus.

So, reunion good, but never on polarising and cult of personality terms, as far as this moron is concerned.


Another thing: I am not worried about Mangini's "dismissal" in the slightest. Yes, we can only assume, but past record should provide a shiteload of credit: the band have always behaved princely on the human relationships and values field. Everyone who has complained about James (the only member who - given age, instrument and repertoire is performing focking miracles) should be very aware of the fact. Unless proof dictates the opposite, I believe that everyone has acted with honour and grace. 

[Trav86]

My two reunion cents, if you please:

Although I've never been one to feel the foundations of reality and all that is sacred shaking at each line-up change, it would be too foolish (even for me) not to admit Portnoy's return is pretty huge news, as was Portnoy's departure years and albums ago.  Yet I can already see a dialectical trap opening its ugly maw beneath the fanbase, tempting us to enclose DT's opus into distinct output quality tiers dictated by the MP-In and MP-Out switch. I find the trend (which I could be very well imagining, but I doubt that) cosmically unfair towards Dream Theater and even crueler towards Michael Mangini and Michael Portnoy.

Let me try to explain using my totally subjective and lunatic opinions about DT's output during the years, which I had the privilege to witness in its entirety:

I consider the Images to Six Degrees stretch as DT's best 5 albums streak, and I refuse to think I have to thank MP for it; I also happen to consider the Train to Clouds stretch as the worst* DT's 4 album streak, and I refuse to think I have to blame MP for it.

* (In Dream Theater case, "worst" is the word common mortals should use meaning "less than mindblowing" because - let's be focking fair once in a while - the guys' level of musical craft, knowledge and mastery won't let them make a "bad" album in the musical context they live. Everything is and is always been skewed by our insane love and expectations. I don't like the Octavarium album very much, but I can't say it's a bad album with a straight face)

But wait!

I consider the Turn to Astonishing stretch as DT's best 3 album streak, and I refuse to think I have to thank MM (or MP's absence) for it; I also happen to consider the last two albums as DT's *worst 2 album streak, and I refuse to think I have to blame MM (or MP's absence) for it.

Now, I'm not saying The Mikes are ineffectual and interchangeable forces. When Portnoy left I was a bit scared because I knew we were losing a creative force of Roger Waters magnitude, something simply nobody else on the scene could provide in the same package with the required technical chops. Yet the band kept its creative spark, or found a new one, and Mangini (who is no Portnoy in that aspect) has undeniably contributed to the process.

Where does all of this tripe leave me about The Reunion?

For me it's quite simple (or simplistic, you choose): every DT album contains an impetus, a strong aesthetic choice to dive on a different path, if not a state of the art statement at least a need to grow as composers. The albums I like travel on a path I like, those I don't ... don't. The last two albums were different: I couldn't feel said impetus (right, wrong, good, or bad). For the first time there was no active theater, but a stationary picture gallery.  The band needed a spark. Again, it was no Mangini's blame and it won't be all thanks to Portnoy if/when things turn, but a change of such magnitude can easily led to new impetus.

So, reunion good, but never on polarising and cult of personality terms, as far as this moron is concerned.


Another thing: I am not worried about Mangini's "dismissal" in the slightest. Yes, we can only assume, but past record should provide a shiteload of credit: the band have always behaved princely on the human relationships and values field. Everyone who has complained about James (the only member who - given age, instrument and repertoire is performing focking miracles) should be very aware of the fact. Unless proof dictates the opposite, I believe that everyone has acted with honour and grace.

Terrific post. I couldn’t have said it better myself.

[gzarruk]

Now that we had 30 pages to discuss it, can we say that the reunion has been a success and had an overwhelmingly positive reaction?

I agree that the announcement accomplished its goal (get people excited and on board again)...  BUT, and this is something we discussed here don't know how many pages ago, the newfound excitement won't last a year on that press release alone. Purely from a business/marketing standpoint, they need to either go back to the studio (won't happen for at least a couple more months) and share lots and lots of BTS bits OR announce a short warmup tour (which might be getting booked as we speak, who knows). If not, all the momentum created by this announcement will just go to waste for a while.